Cleaning a vintage CCM bicycle wheel

The Canada Cycle & Motor Company (CCM) has a fascinating history. For many middle-aged Canadians today, during their childhood CCM was a respected household name for hockey equipment, including ice skates, pads, and sticks. But the company's origins date to 1899, when CCM manufactured high quality bicycles in Toronto as part of its operations with the Russell Motor Car Company. The picture below is from CCM's 1918 catalogue.

CCM's bicycle products carried through to the company's demise in 1983, although by the end they had gained a reputation as a cheap department store bike that competed with increasing low-cost imports from other markets, such as Asia. 

Although the lustre of CCM bikes has long since waned, many years ago I considered myself fortunate to have found a rear wheel from a CCM bicycle in a now-defunct antique store in Carleton Place. It's been on my to-do list for years to clean up this wheel so I could give I could display it in my office. 

According to information from this interesting site (based in nearby Perth, Ontario), it appears my wheel could date to 1908-1918. The hub is a "Hercules" armless coaster brake, one of CCM's models manufactured under license from Musselman (patent number 106391). 

The oil port in the middle of the hub is inscribed with what appears to be "JOSLUCASL2", "No 1" and "BIRMM". (I'm guessing this is a part made by Lucas Industries in Birmingham, England, which was a major centre of bicycle and motorcycle manufacturing and home of BSA.) Apparently, CCM marketed oil specifically for their Hercules coaster brake hubs in the late 1920s. Their brake grease didn't appear until the 1930s and even then the company recommended the periodic addition of a few drops of oil to preserve performance. (As a footnote, there was debate among cyclists as early as the late 1890s as to whether grease or oil was better for hubs!)

Since it's not a "New Hercules" model, it's almost certainly the original 1908 model as shown in the patent and product sheets below. 

The wooden rim was painted black and appears to lack evidence of pin striping, which was added to later, fancier models. It also lacks a metal rim strip added to reinforce later wheels, although there are two small nails and some cloth remnants near the valve hole, which probably held a cotton rim strip. As with modern rims, the valve hole is opposite the rim seam, which in this case is a glued finger joint. The wood is fine-grained and appears to be hard maple or maybe birch.

The hub and spokes are nickel-plated, the nipples are brass. 

I disassembled and cleaned the bearings and coaster brake mechanism, and straightened and chased the threads on the axle. It now works smoothly when reassembled! I also removed surface rust from the spokes and applied a conservator's microcrystalline wax to all metal parts to retard further corrosion. Varsol and linseed oil were used to clean and protect the wooden rim, as I felt this was an authentic and appropriate treatment given the probable age of the wheel. Unfortunately, there's too much corrosion to risk tightening the fragile spokes, so it won't be possible to true up the wheel. However, it holds its shape well enough as-is. 

As a bicycle enthusiast, I'm thrilled to have this wheel on display as a reminder of Canadian cycling heritage. I wonder who, a hundred years from now, may admire some of the wheels I've built?

Fat biking in Bennies Corners

This is part of the trail network I helped create with Phil Maier and a bunch of other dedicated volunteers. 2020 was my last year of direct involvement in building and maintaining our local trails, after 10 years of sweat and smiles. The trail-building torch is now passed on to a new group of volunteers who have done a great job of building out the network, leaving me more time and options to ride!

The Bennies Corners and Sugarbush sections (located across from each other on the 7th line Ramsay Township) are groomed with a Snow Dog by Phil and his crew. This year there's been unusually little snow, so the trail is bare, icy, and treacherous in many places. Studs recommended, although I don't ride with them. (I refuse to pay $350 per tire for studs!) Also strongly recommended that you bring a spare tube if you ride tubeless, and unless there's snow, keep your tires pumped above 12 psi or you're likely to pinch-flat on jagged rocks. Of my last three rides here, I flatted and broke a crank bolt on one (resulting in a 3 lm walkout because I forgot my tube in the car), and bent a derailleur hanger on another. Third time lucky: no damage!

If you ride all the options at Bennies Corners, you can easily clock about 15km of mostly flowy single track. Highly recommended for a day trip in the Ottawa area. Parking available at the end of the 8th line (just past the Mill of Kintail), or along the road on 7th line. Note that the 8th line entrance can be mushy after a thaw. The 7th line/Sugarbush entrance allows you to warm up on the easy Sugarbush section before heading into the more technical options on the Bennies Corners side of the road.

More mountain biking trails in Lanark County

If you're looking for new places to mountain bike in the Ottawa area, happily there are several more options today than even five years ago. However, for a region that's chock-full of beautiful forests, rocky Canadian Shield, rivers, and parks--all the raw material to become a world-class mountain biking destination--it's still somewhat incredible and disappointing there isn't more single track available to the public. Nevertheless, the Ottawa Mountain Biking Association (OMBA) has worked tirelessly with the National Capital Commission to slowly ease open some trail access in Gatineau Park. Larose Forest has seen the recent and rapid development of a well-regarded trail network for summer and winter riding. Further up the Ottawa River Valley, BORCA and others continue to improve networks at Forest Lea and along the Ottawa River near Beachburg. 

Just 30 minutes west of Ottawa in Almonte, I'm happy to report that the Mississippi Valley Trails (MVT) network I started with a small group of volunteers ten years ago is now enjoying rapid expansion and improvements for summer and winter riding as well. I've now passed over stewardship of the trail network to the Lanark County Mountain Biking Association (LCMBA) which is run by the same group of volunteers. Originally we had the trail insured and organized under the auspices of OMBA, but with the growth of local activity it made sense to form a new, separate trail management organization with its own liability insurance. 

As with any trail network, maintaining access depends on users respecting the landowners and trail rules. This spring we lost access to one section of private lands connecting the MVT section to the Mill of Kintail and Bennies Corners sections. This was unfortunate, because it meant splitting what used to be an almost 30km out-and-back ride into two separate areas with no good connection between them. However, it's understandable why the landowner closed access: a small minority of riders and dog-walkers consistently ignored requests to stay on the trail (or stay off it altogether when the entry was barricaded) and trespassed onto actively farmed lands. 

On a personal note, after ten years of grubbing out single track and wrangling land access, I need a break to deal with other life events and to spend more time actually riding. LCMBA has a good handle on taking the network to the next level. I'm thankful for LCMBA's efforts, and the growing popularity of the trails is proof that things are headed in the right direction for year-round riding. Ten years ago I knew everyone who rode; now it's rare if I run into someone I know. If you haven't checked out the LCMBA network, it's well worth a day trip. Almonte also offers many excellent options for food and drink before or after your ride. You can even jump into the river to cool off at Rock Bottom, the historic swimming hole just downstream of the town along the MVT section. 

As always, please respect the core trail rules: stay on the trail, ensure your pets are leashed, and do not leave litter or poop bags. If you're considerate of the landowners, there will be more opportunities to grow and maintain the network for many more years to come.

Ibis Hakka MX gravel bike: Review

With all the hype around gravel bikes recently, it's perfectly understandable why you may be rolling your eyes at the thought of adding yet another miracle-bike to your quiver. So let's cut to the chase: If for some horrible reason I had to choose to keep just one bike in my own quiver (which includes high-end versions of a road bike, XC mountain bike, fat bike, single-speed, and now a gravel bike), it'd be the gravel bike without question. It's like buying a dual-sport motorcycle and I consider it my Tenere 700 of bicycles: not the fastest on the pavement or most capable in the extreme technical, but a perfect compromise for adventures and exploration.

I'm late to the gravel-bike craze but not new to riding gravel, having gotten into the dirty side of cycling back in 1987 when I first tried mountain biking in France, of all places. (At the time, road-riding was king and mountain biking was still only gaining a foothold in North America.) Of course, there was cycle-cross, and die-hard roadies were also no stranger to cobbled roads in the European race scene. But bikes for the rough stuff at the time were mostly steel or aluminum-framed, wheels were skinny and so was the rubber, and frame geometry was dominated by the hunched-over aero posture of the roadie world. Compared with today's purpose-built and finely-tuned machines, yesterday's bikes offer little in terms of comfort, handling, and performance on rough surfaces. Good riddance as far as I'm concerned! 

Enter Ibis Bicycles out of Santa Cruz, California. Unlike industry giants such as Trek and Specialized, Ibis and its mere dozen or so employees are well down into the boutique-brand category. But their pedigree reaches back to the very origins of mountain biking and they've justly earned a reputation for creating ground-breaking designs that encapsulate passion, and perform as exquisitely well as they look. At Ibis, innovation is incremental and thoughtful. They meticulously refine their designs and details to truly enhance the enjoyment of riding, rather than follow the latest flashy trends.

The Hakka MX carbon frame with the matching Enve carbon fork is Ibis's only gravel offering and the only one they need to offer since it is capable of bike-packing as well. In choosing this frame I'd also considered options from Norco, Cervelo, and a few other brands. I ruled those out because I wanted a threaded bottom bracket, and many of the other brands have recently moved to press-fit because it's easier to manufacturer. For my purposes, I don't see practical benefits to a press-fit bottom bracket, and in fact it's more of a detriment in terms of maintainability. Choosing a threaded design reduced my options considerably, but fortunately the Hakka MX is a solid choice by any measure. 

While it's not the lightest frame set available (mine runs just over 1000 g in 58 cm), it's extremely solid and that's what I wanted given I'm 87 kg and tend to ride hard. Ibis offers a decent build kit around Shimano's new GRX group, but I worked with a local bike shop (Phat Moose - thanks guys!) to create a my own custom build which actually ended up being cheaper and lighter (the complete bike weighs 9.15kg or 20.1 lbs, which is quite respectable): 

• Easton EA90 Cinch crankset, 1 x 11 with 40T chainring  
• Wheels Manufacturing T47 bottom bracket
• Shimano GRX RD-RX812 rear derailleur with CS-M8000 11 speed 11-40T cassette
• Shimano GRX RX810 hydraulic disc brakes and levers
• Easton EX70 bar stem (80mm, 7º) and EC70 AX carbon bar (46cm)
• Race Face Next carbon seat post and WTB Volt saddle
• DT Swiss 350 MTB hubs with XM401 700cc x 22.5mm rims and DT Competition spokes
• Panaracer Gravel King SK 700x43mm tubeless tires

Although this is my first experience with 11-speed, I've been running 1x on my fat bike and mountain bike (Santa Cruz Tallboy) for years and have not felt the need to reinstall a front derailleur. Unless your consistently tackling extremely steep terrain, I've found modern cassettes to offer plenty of range for a 1x setup. If anything, I could use higher gearing for speed, and on the Hakka I indeed ended up swapping the 40T front ring for a 44T, since that was cheaper than replacing the cassette. This allowed me to run the chain one cog lower on the cassette, keeping the chainline more centered for the bulk of my riding at 30-35km/hr. With the 40T, I was usually running in 9th and 10th on the cassette, and I was concerned about accelerated wearing those positions.

The GRX shifts far lighter and smoother than the 1998-era, 9-speed DuraAce on my road bike. The levers have a broad, flat surface on the side which is easy to press for one-finger shifting when you're hands are slippery with sweat. No shifting issues whatsoever under load or extreme chain lines, and even though it's a narrower chain, no issues with grit or mud yet, either. All the cabling is fully internal, so no risk of crap getting in to affect shifting. When building the bike, I routed the rear brake line and derailleur housing after installing the bottom bracket. It was a little tight, but relatively easy to fish the ends around the bottom bracket shell by using a dental pick through the lower frame port.

The wheels may seem like an ususual choice. In fact, they're a set of 29er mountain bike wheels I'd built up under my Rugged Wheels business but never sold. Most people don't seem to understand that 29er rims are equivalent to 700cc road rims, and the older (100/142mm, non-boost) hub spacing is now a common standard for CX/road/gravel bikes with thru-axles. DT Swiss uses an ingenious design that lets you swap hub end caps to give you 15mm, 12mm, or QR fitment. I happened to have a set of 12mm QR caps so was able to convert the front wheel from 15mm to 12mm thru-axle in seconds. The Panaracer tires sealed up beautifully and the whole package handles really well on pavement and gravel.

While the Hakka fits the 42mm tires no problem, they tread leaves barely two millimeters of clearance under the nifty fender holder in the rear. This isn't a problem for me since I'm not running fenders, but I'd have to choose a smaller tire if I change my mind. The 42mm tires are fantastic for the roads I ride, which are often potholed or washboarded, or have a layer of fresh, loose gravel on them, requiring some floatation to ride safely. The wider tires complement the stiffer frame and carbon seatpost to offer the benefits of good tracking and pedaling efficiency, as well as long-term comfort. Similarly, I could've chosen to build up some carbon wheels, but I wanted aluminum for some compliance. (I run a similar wheel in carbon on my XC mountain bike, but in that case a stiff wheel is desirable for better tracking, given there's suspension to deal with the bumps plus additional flex from pivots, etc.)

Overall the Hakka bits me beautifully - I got lucky with the initial setup and have only needed to make minor tweaks to fit my 183cm height. Some riders report that the frame feels overly stiff, but for my weight it's been extremely comfortable and I've been continually surprised by how far I've ridden this bike before feeling the need for a short break. The combination of clutch derailleur and internal routing for brake and derailleur makes it an absolutely silent ride even on rocky descents. No creaking or irritating vibrations - just the sweet sound of file-tread tires zinging along. The bars are super comfortable to ride on the tops or hoods, although the shape of the drop grip will take some getting used to after my road bike. Spacing between the front tire and my size 11-feet is tight but so far I haven't hit the tread with my toes. The bike feels stable on the straights and is nimble on technical trails. I ran out of gearing on a 15% loose, technical uphill--but that's more of a rider flaw than bike; I would've struggled on my mountain bike as well. 

In the past month I've ridden almost 900km of gravel and trails on the Hakka. From the first time I swung a leg over it I can honestly say it's rekindled my passion for cycling. A good gravel bike opens up so many new route options to explore and avoid traffic, that I can't imagine why any avid cyclist wouldn't want to give one a try. Makes me feel like a kid again! 

Massive growth predicted for e-bikes

Here's some fascinating research on the rise of e-bikes from Deloitte: E-bikes have made it into the list of top technology predictions for 2020. A friend at a major OEM wheel supplier to the global bike industry echoed this trend. E-bikes are getting better every year, moving from dorky niche gadgets to mainstream, sleek rides. I want one!

Even Yamaha has some interesting products in the pipeline, and has collaborated with Honda to develop standardized battery/charger systems:



Of course, e-bikes pose challenges to the traditional bike retailers and supply chains. As with electric cars, the current landscape of bike dealers and mechanics does not seem to be well-prepared to support an electric revolution. The bike controls, wiring, battery, and motor systems present new types of problems requiring new knowledge and skills to fix and new supply chains to deal with the more comprehensive overhauls and waste. If I was running a bike shop, I'd be thinking hard about how to sell and provide long-term support for technology that may become obsolete in only a few years. We need better systems in place to ensure that if you buy an e-bike today, with reasonable maintenance you can expect to get 8-15 reliable years out of it (similar to a regular mechanical bike) before the whole platform warrants replacement. The shops that figure this out will have a good business future.

If we can solve the battery/range issue, e-bikes and e-motorcycles could also radically transform our urban spaces and how we use them. For example, the current trend towards self-driving and electric cars could eventually mean that major highways become the exclusive domain of automated vehicles. Motorbikes (electric or ICE) may eventually be restricted to secondary or non-automated roadways unless someone figures out how to feasibly make a two-wheeled vehicle self-driving and safe. Taking this concept further, urban roads may end up segregated into low-speed bike lanes, traditional roads for faster motorized/licensed vehicles (cars, fast e-bikes, etc.), and restricted-access 5G-networked highways for autonomous and self-driving vehicles.

In the meantime, I'm going to continue to enjoy the freedom to ride (almost) anywhere while avoiding the 4-lanes highways because they are already not a welcome place for bikes.

Finding adventure: Why I ride

The hardest part of undertaking an adventure is deciding to go. Uncertainty about the unknown, concern about risk, and anxiety about whether it’ll be the “right” use of precious time and resources—all can defeat taking action. When “analysis paralysis” and agonizing over all the “what-ifs” take over, they often shut doors to enriching new experiences and insights.

Even for seasoned adventurers, making the decision to go may paradoxically become both harder and easier with age. This is certainly the case for me now as I ponder my 50^th year and plan a new trip.

On the one hand, I’ve had the good fortune to be able to live in or extensively visit some 35 countries since an early age. Growing up as an only child to young parents who were also students, we lived in nomadic poverty. Leaving Canada for Sweden, we wound our way through Eastern Europe to Greece and then Italy, and on to South Africa, LeSotho and Swaziland before emigrating to a small backwater town in Queensland, Australia.

Soon after, a family break-up led to the next chapter of my life and the addition of two new people who would eventually become my wonderful step-parents. It was also the start of my dual life, splitting my time between my father’s adventurous  lifestyle around the world and my more mundane routine in Canada. These adventures included sailing around the south Pacific, hitchhiking through Europe, and spending time in Switzerland and southern France with a remarkable collection of musicians, artists, and business people in my father’s (and stepmother’s) circle of family and friends. It was all bare-bones budget, often risky by the standards of the day, and certainly not what was then seen as an appropriate way to raise a teenager. It was fantastic.

This upbringing naturally drove me towards being independent and self-reliant. In that respect, a major epiphany for me was learning to ride my second-hand bicycle on our dirt road in Australia. This, and some old books on bicycle repair, kindled a life-long passion for independent, two-wheeled travel. At 16 I completed my first bike tour, a solo four-day tour through a corner of France and Switzerland. I could hardly wait until the end of high school, when a friend and I spent three months cycling across Europe and I worked as a bicycle tour guide in France.

In university I started to race bicycles, and took up running--against the advice of a doctor who was horrified by my gait. Despite being relatively late to the sport, soon I was competing internationally in duathlons and was fortunate to represent Canada at two world championships. Racing led to rock-climbing and mountaineering, and many trips to stunning locations to enjoy new challenging experiences and guide others.

Twenty years ago today, in 1998, my wife and I took our biggest risk together (besides getting married—that’s a whole other story!). We scrounged every penny, left our careers, and took half a year to travel as locals would through West Africa and the Middle East. In retrospect, it was an unusually perfect time for such a trip. The regions we visited were mostly stable and conflict free at the time, yet tourism was rare. We met many wonderful people in Gambia, Morocco, Mali, Ghana, Syria, and other places where it would be difficult at best, or outright suicidal today. We took chances and had an adventure of a lifetime.

Now—and with the accumulated responsibilities of teenagers of my own, extended family, entrenched careers, and the usual burdens of simply getting older—finding adventure becomes more challenging. It must emerge in more compact, refined forms to remain feasible. In that respect, the addition of a motorcycle license a decade ago enables adventures further afield while retaining many of the characteristics of bicycle travel. 

All this wealth of experience, while contributing to useful know-how in finding and having great adventures, also gives rise to the paradox I mentioned at the start: it stimulates the “what-ifs”. If unchecked, these what-ifs can defeat the goal of finding or enjoying new adventures. I think the key is to find an appropriate balance between experience (often gained through failure) and openness to risk (optimism that you can find a way to succeed) that is right for you. This is tricky. First you need to be aware of the issues, then you need to identify the right balance, then you need to act on it. Many people never figure it out. 

  

For myself, I think I’ve found a reasonable balance. My fears are tempered by having been in some situations that could have easily and irrevocably led to a spectacular death or at least injury. We all gotta go, someday. I just don’t think my time’s up yet. And when it is, I hope it’s while going full-throttle doing something I love.

Nevertheless, and speaking as a motorcyclist, for the benefit of my family I try to be a conservative rider who assiduously avoids traffic, main roads, and populations in general. Those are risks I can control somewhat by simply minimizing my exposure to them. The tradeoff is allowing myself the luxury of enjoying perhaps a little more risk riding on the path that’s less-traveled and definitely more rutted, rocky and remote: Pick your battles.

Probably like most of you reading this site, I ride because the combination of acceleration, fresh air, and physical exertion is intoxicating and exhilarating. Whether it’s on a bicycle or motorcycle, those two wheels become extensions of my body, allowing me to go places and find adventures that most people can’t or won’t try. The journey—not the destination—is the basis of adventure. Every ride can become an adventure if you approach it the right way. The amazing thing is, once you make that decision to go, the rest just falls into place.

Rugged Wheels update and preview

Rugged Wheels is my new business venture born in the woods of Eastern Ontario, a destination with thousands of square kilometers of gorgeous wilderness for epic rides on and off road.

Why Rugged? Because out here, buff trails are the stuff of fantasy. Here we contend with Canadian Shield, limestone flats, dismal swamps, rooty cedar and pine forests, sticky clay, water crossings, and pointy rocks everywhere.

The lightest gear is no use if it breaks. Even on a road ride here it can be a long hike back to civilization and you can't count on others along the way. So our wheel vision emphasizes quality and durability: built to service, built to last. Rugged Wheels for rugged rides.  

For the last couple of months I've been spec'ing wheelsets, ordering parts, and building wheels in preparation to launching my web site. Here's a preview of some of the goodies.

The following are custom carbon rims, all for tubeless mounting and built on DT Swiss 350-series hubs. There's an 80mm-wide fatbike rim, a 38mm deep road rim, and a 60mm deep road rim. The road rims are 25mm wide to allow for wider (e.g. gravel) tires and include a rim braking surface, although I'll be building these up for disc brakes. I'm also looking into an option for a more discreet rim graphic, but hey--these are meant to show off the brand!

Here's the 3 Amigos together for comparison:

Light dual-sport motorcycles like the WR250R, CRF250, and more are rightly gaining popularity. Upgrading the wheels or having a second set with different tires improves the ride experience. Here's the set of SMPro wheels I built for my WR250R, mounted with an MT-21 in front and D606 in back. Hubs and rims are SMPro with Bulldog stainless spokes and aluminum nipples. Everything is made by the same company in the UK--they supply wheels to many well-known factory brands in Europe. 

Ignore the ghetto balancing weights. The nice ones I had in stock didn't fit the slightly larger Bulldog spokes, so I need to order new weights. 

Note these wheels look a little grungy because they have 500km of trail riding on them, and the tires have about 2000km.  

The hubs have a nice, clean design, include spacers and bearings, and build up well.

Here's a close-up of the Dirt Tricks sprocket I've run for 13,000 km of filthy trail riding. 

It shows no functional wear compared to a brand new sprocket on the right. Amazing. 

Like DT Swiss on the bicycle side and SMPro on the moto side, Dirt Tricks is a brand I've chosen to import because it's such good stuff.

I also rebuilt my stock WR250R hubs with new SMPro rims and Bulldog spokes to be able to run a more street-oriented tire. 

The real show here is that zirconium PVD-coated sprocket from Dirt Tricks. This coating is expected to be more durable than the chromium plating on the regular sprockets. Colours look amazing when you change the lighting angle. 

Rugged Wheels will offer these products and more in 2017:

• Wheelsets for bicycles and motorbikes. These are sold as predefined upgrade packages based on carefully selected components and sizes that are most popular and optimize performance, durability, and cost. Lightest and cheapest is available elsewhere; that's not our market. Retail sales are through bike shops only. You can order bicycle options from Imad or Brian at Rebec & Kroes in Ottawa. We're interested in hearing from motorcycle shops that want to offer wheels and parts for dual-sport and off-road applications.
• Small parts for wheels. Whether you need hubs, rims, spokes, or other related parts, our plan is to provide sales and technical support. If you've ever tried to spec a wheel, you know there's a lot to figure out. One supplier has over 60,000 SKUs just for wheels...
• Custom-cut spokes for bicycles. Our Morizumi spoke machine enables us to offer precision-threaded spokes as cost-effective options (order 1 or 500!) for servicing your own wheels.

Wheel building tools

Built this bicycle wheel truing stand for $20 in materials, based on a plan and wheel-building method by Roger Musson in his excellent book. The stand is not quite finished: it needs two plastic reference guides added to the lateral and radial truing tools, but I didn't have any suitable material on hand.

Update: it's finished!

The blue dishing tool in the background is a Park WAG-4 which I found online for about $65.

Next up is to make a nipple shuffler like this one from Wheel Fanatyk:

It's a simple but ingenious tool with at about a 100-year history in wheel-building factories. 

Now I'm Jonesing for this gorgeous Morizumi spoke threading machine which eliminates the need to stock a wide range of lengths for each spoke type/colour while enabling perfect spoke lengths.

Although all these tools are aimed at bicycle wheel-building, the theory and many of the techniques apply equally to motorcycle wheels. So I have a plan to add tooling and build motorcycle wheels for MX and ADV riding. 

More to come on all this in a future post!

For sale: Fat bike tires 45NRTH Dillinger

These are a fast, grippy tire for firmer conditions, are studdable, and offer a significant weight saving (over a pound!) and performance upgrade versus the stock tires that typically ship with a fat bike. Compared to the V-Rubber beasts that came on my Norco Bigfoot, switching to the Dillingers gave an immediately noticeable improvement in handling and acceleration. It felt like I'd scraped off an inch of mud.



Performance doesn't come cheap--these tires retail for around C$270 each. I'm selling them for C$90 each. They were used for one season and are in excellent shape: no holes, nicks or significant wear. Width is 4.0" with 120 TPI aramid (folding) bead.

I've switched to the Surly Nates which offer a more aggressive (and slower and heavier) tread that's better suited to the poor trail conditions and deep snow I typically ride on. If I had a second set of wheels I'd definitely keep the Dillingers for firmer conditions.

If interested, email me at frankenbuffer@gmail.com.

MTB Vallee Bras-du-Nord

In mid-August a large group of us from the Ottawa area finally coordinated a much-anticipated weekend trip to the impressive Vallee Bras-du-Nord trail centre. Located about 45 minutes west of Quebec City, VBN has, in only a few years, risen from undeveloped obscurity to become a premiere riding destination in the north-east. What's made this possible is a savvy partnership with the Kingdom Trails Association in Vermont to tap trail design and management expertise. Equally important, they've also bagged some $900,000 of investment to build over 100km of cross-country oriented single track and other tourist infrastructure in the area. For the riders in my posse it all added up to FUN.

The VBN website has good information about activities in the area and fantastic pics and videos, but is a little lacking in practical info for first-time visitors. So I'm going to focus on a few things that should make a weekend trip to VBN a lot easier to figure out.

Getting there

We drove from Ottawa which is about 5 hours west of St. Raymond. This meant getting past the traffic mess that is Montreal. Autoroute 50 through Gatineau and over the top of Montreal is an excellent way to bypass the mess. Highly recommended.

Where to stay

St. Raymond is the main town in the area and the most convenient base for riding. The VBN website lists several options (mostly B&Bs or small inns) and many of these are well suited to contain bikers. However, things book up fast on weekends. The best option seems to be the Hotel Roquemont on the edge of town, right at the trailhead of one of the two main trail networks in the area. It contains an information centre where you can buy trail passes and, more importantly, a very good brew-pub restaurant. Across the parking lot is a bike rental centre sponsored by Rocky Mountain where you can also buy spare parts, get your bike serviced, and change into riding clothes. There's lots of parking and a free bike wash. Even if you don't stay here, this is a good starting point for your first rides in the area.

We were unable to reserve accommodation in St. Raymond and ended up renting a house in a hamlet on Route 367 about 10 minutes northwest of town. It was spartan but clean and affordable, and included WiFi and a fully stocked kitchen and two fridges so we could cook our own meals. This is a great option for larger groups although it does mean driving for 20 minutes or so to reach the trails.

Below is the view from the patio of our rental house. Right behind the trees is a rails-to-trails path that appears to be part of the popular Route Verte network. Although we didn't explore this trail, we did see many road-oriented riders on it--especially on the section that passes through St. Raymond.

Where to ride

We were fortunate to have a local contact--the awesome Paul--who knew the trails intimately and directed us on a good exploration of the riding options. Here's the itinerary we followed for a 3-day long weekend. Refer to the official trail map (copies available at the information centre and online) for details.

Day 1
Since we drove down in the morning, we only had half a day to ride. After getting lunch and passes at the Hotel Roquemont, we hit the trails of the St. Raymond sector right out of the hotel parking lot. These consisted of flowy, switchbacked routes over predominantly sandy ground through pine and hardwood forest backing onto a ski hill. Unfortunately it was pouring rain, but the excellent drainage of the soil meant that traction was good and mud minimal. Lots of roots in places and some fast, narrow downhills with tight corners, jumps, and whoops kept us both exhilarated and exhausted. This area makes a good warm-up and introduction to the area. We ended up riding a few sections several times before winding our way back to the parking lot, tuckered out from having to climb back up the ski hill several times on each loop.

Day 2
For us, the real gem of the area is the trail network at Shannahan Sector. Compared to the rolling countryside around St. Raymond, the land at Shannahan rises dramatically into a glacial valleys with bare cliffs, steep hillsides, and dense mixed pine and hardwood forest. It looks a lot like parts of Alaska and really makes you feel like you've traveled somewhere special, far from home.

Considerable investment has gone into developing the welcome centre at the Shanahan trailhead. Here you'll find ample parking and access to myriad other activities, including kayaking and canoeing on the river nearby, and Via Ferrata on the cliff looming over the parking lot. The area is popular with families but not crowded. There's also the option here to rent a yurt for accommodation, complete with a hand-pulled cart to bring all your stuff into the woods.

We started with a few warm-up loops on the machine-built trails immediately after the suspension bridge (isn't that an awesome bridge!?). These roll over packed sandy soil and make a fine introduction to the flavour of the area.

Ranging further, we then hit the stunning Chute a Gilles (known locally as Chute de Gilles because of all the times Gilles crashed on it) which passes through a waterfall.

This led on to Grand Ourse and then Petite Ourse, where there's a great place to have lunch under the bridge. No mosquitoes!

The flagship trail here is La Neilson which we saved for the afternoon. It requires a 40 minute climb up a steep gravel fire road before dipping into the woods and following a magic carpet ride of downhill XC bliss over rocks and bridges. It's a tough workout both up and down, but the stunning scenery and breathtaking flow are absolutely worth the effort. However, you've got to be on your game: this is not an easy trail and pretty much everyone wiped out at some point. In my case it was a slow-speed high-side when I came across some riders stopped on the trail and lost my balance, falling down a slope and injuring my shoulder. This section of the trail is still under development and was simply not rideable in places, especially where there was deep mud. Fortunately there's a natural bike wash on the roadside where you exit the trail. The water was potable (and delicious!), and in our case it allowed our wheels to turn again.

Ending the day with a cold beer and dip in the river was heaven.

Day 3
With everyone nursing aches and pains from the day before, we returned to Shannahan for a few hours of easy riding on the trails on the other side of the suspension bridge and to the far left. These are all textbook trails right out of the IMBA manual and lots of fun to play on. Then it was another wash in the river and time to head home.

Bikes

The riding was perfect for a 29er on the more enduro end of the XC spectrum. Given all the climbing required, you will appreciate a light bike. The trails are bumpy but nothing that 4-5" of travel can't eat up. Tires like the Nobby Nic are perfect in wet conditions; a hardpack tire would be fine in drier conditions, but beware that the sand will also loosen up and require knobs. It is essential to bring chain lube and use it often--especially in wet conditions.

I was running a 32T single front ring with a standard 10-speed MTB cassette and would've appreciated having a 30T on the front to make climbing when tired a little easier. Compared to riding around Ottawa or even Kingdom Trails, I found I used the lower end of my gearing a lot more (and for longer) at VBN.

Conclusion

VBN is a great alternative to Kingdom Trails for Canadian riders stung by our lousy exchange rate. The St. Raymond area also has much to offer in terms of accommodation and restaurants, road riding, canoeing, and climbing. It was also tremendously popular for motorcycle touring. The people are friendly and helpful, and there was a cheery vibe especially at Shannahan. I'll be heading back next season for sure.